Good quality stoves

[ChrisTaylor]

A friend of mine has just moved into a new house. He's seemingly ripping the guts out of the kitchen and replacing all the tired old shit with quality gear--new sink, new stove, etc. Anyway. The stove. He's been looking at http://www.lacanche.com/ and wants to know if they're any good. Honestly, I've no idea at all about good quality or even bad quality stoves--my knowledge is limited to knowing that the no name thing installed in my current rental is horrid.

Any thoughts? Opinions? Recommendations of superior alternatives?

[ScoopKW]

Your friend should be concerned about the diameter of the gas pipe serving that "virtuoso cooker." 1/2" probably isn't enough energy. 3/4" might not even be enough, considering other draws on the gas.

If he's got a small pipe, the stove won't get enough gas, and it will be no better than a GE Throwaway. I'd be looking at the entire gas service line from the meter to the stove. Probably a pricey upgrade, but certainly something for your friend to think about now, while he's in the "ripping stuff out" phase.

[rotuts]

Ill say this: I redid my kitchen 4 years ago and have always used gas. the new GE throw-away was not as nice as the older one which was damaged as I was a way for a few years: it only has one burner not two gas rings as the older one did: a very small and bigger.

had i known better i would have gotten an electric oven with one fan and a gas top.

unless there is a substantial reason for a gas oven id consider electric is a fan or two as a better option. its dry heat. you can always add a pan of water for mosture.

then there are these:

The Combi-Oven:

http://www.blodgett.com/combi_BCP.htm

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!

that and a Paco-jet: one would be set:

http://www.pacojetus.com/

good luck.

Edited November 22, 2011 by rotuts (log)

[Snadra]

Is he looking at it because he's in love with the look, or is there some other reason? I've heard of these elsewhere, but don't know anything about them except they're pretty, pricey and seem like they have some great features... I'm not in the right demographic for these myself, but from people I know who have gone for these kind of niche brands in Aus (I assume your friend is in Melbourne?) the lack of a strong local distribution network can make them painful if you have any issues, plus there can be installation problems if the plumber/gas fitter is unfamiliar with the brand and its quirks. I'm guessing at least some of these stoves are dual-fuel, so the gas oven thing might not be so much of an issue. And Melbourne is a different market to Sydney so servicing and installation might be a different issue there also.

My own inclination would be to go the cooktop + wall oven route because it gives more layout flexibility and still allows you to do things like put in a double oven, etc. Plus it's worth looking at induction, which is coming down in price now, even here. You can add a gas wok ring, or a wok induction unit if that's a factor using 'dominos'.

He might also consider a light speed combination microwave, which all the euro brands do as well, and essentially gives you an additional oven.

Also, if he's looking at cooktops, it's a good time to look at range hoods and plan for how his will vent to outside (I am always shocked at how many kitchen fans vent into the roof cavity). I have no advice on brands, except to say the quieter they are the more pleasant a kitchen is, to me, anyway.

I've got Bosch appliances in the kitchen and am very happy with them - friends who have Miele are also happy (although I've seen problems with the Miele dishwashers recently I've come across recently). However, neither brand fits the look of the Lacanche.

[GlowingGhoul]

A quality induction stovetop can be an excellent alternative to gas, providing there isn't a large investment in non-induction compatable cookware.

[eternal]

I just spent a bunch of time researching ranges. Granted, I wasn't in the super high-end of the market but I was looking at more mid-range, prosumer stuff. The biggest information source I found was on iVillage, which despite their terrible forum software, has quite a bit of activity in the appliance forum. What I learned was that no matter the brand, everyone has horror stories about quality and things breaking. The brand people love to hate now is Viking. Also, people hate electronics. They all think the electronics are going to burn out.

I think having service nearby is helpful, so take that into account.

I ended up with the baseline Bluestar. I got it because of these reasons:

1. The powerful, open burner design. There is flame across the whole base of the pan

2. The oven takes a full-size, commercial sheet pan. We use these pans a lot so it is mighty convenient.

3. It is a simple, simple stove. The ignitors are cheap and easy to replace, which i guess is what fail most often in these stoves.

Things I didn't like about others:

1. oven is too small

2. Some have different size burners for every port. Annoying. I want every burner to go to full blast and low simmer. GE and Kitchenaid is notorious for this.

I wish mine was a convection oven but that would have cost like 1500 more.

Also, a cooktop + oven would be nice. That would have required a kitchen remodel for me so no go.

Some people love induction. It makes sense. I like to hold pans over the flame and adjust the heat that way. The induction isn't as romantic for me.

Good luck!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Eternal question! FWIW, our son has a LaCanche. It is beautiful, the stove top works a dream. The oven seems to be reliable, AFAIK.

In a parallel world, my husband and I recently discussed replacing our vintage, actually read "prototype" Viking range. It is a piece of #$%&. But it works. I don't "notice" it.

After shopping stoves that cost multiples more than my first car, we decided that we needed a proper oven clean and anew exhaust hood.

BTU per burner might be your guide. We found that our ancient range had higher BTU than most of the new kids on the block.

[eternal]

BTU is useful. But it is also like megapixels - a bit of a numbers game for range manufacturers. Part of it is the strength of the flame. Part of it is how good the flame reaches the pan.